You're Safe Now
by bmo-galaxy
Summary: When Shion has a nightmare, Nezumi comforts him. While he takes care of his boyfriend, the rat reflects on how Shion has helped him.
_The first thing he noticed was that it was dark. All consuming, pitch black dark surrounded him from all sides. That alone set Shion's heart racing, irregular beats thumping loudly in his ears. Nezumi once told him that his heartbeat differently now, after being revived. Shion had never noticed it until now, when it was impossible to ignore as it thudded through his entire body. He turned in every which direction, searching for something, anything, in the darkness. Fear clenched at his stomach. Desperation and despair ran through him, bringing tears that burned his eyes._

 _It was a buzzing that caught his attention. He whipped his head around, trying to find the source. It was constant, high pitch buzzing that bordered on annoying. Shion knew that he had heard it somewhere before, but his mind idled when he tried to remember. A sharp pain in the back of his neck caused him to yelp. He slapped his hand against the spot, gripping whatever had attached itself to his neck. When he brought his hand around, his breath froze in his throat. A bee sat in his hand, dark, glassy eyes staring up at him. He threw the bee into the darkness, taking a shaky step back away from the insect. The bee rose from the ground; the buzzing returned. It flew close to his face, seeming to stare at him. Shion's body was frozen in fear, his blood running cold in his veins. He urged his legs to move._

" _You really are pathetic, aren't you?" Nezumi's voice rang around him. "A pampered prince far away from home, afraid of bees in the dark." Mocking laughter surrounded him, pushing into his head and echoing around in his skull. He covered his ears, desperate to block out the voice. The bee hovered closer to his face._

" _I don't know why I waste my time protecting you. You're a good for nothing waste of space. You can't walk two steps without falling on your face, let alone protect and provide for yourself."_

" _Stop it," Shion begging, squeezing his eyes shut. Hot tears streamed down his face, dripping off his chin into the darkness. He could feel the insect buzz against his ear, wings nearly touching him. The voice was whispering now._

" _I should have let that bee_ kill you _."_

 _The bee disappeared, the buzzing replaced by a high pitched ringing. The kind that something small flying through the air made. Shion barely had time to open his eyes when burning pain rippled through his chest. He put a hand to his heart, feeling sticky blood run between his fingers. It was stark red against the white of his shaking hands and the darkness around him. His heart beat harder than before, desperate to keep him alive. The pale haired boy gasped for breath, feeling the life drain out of him. He raised his eyes to see Nezumi standing in front of him, gun poised in his hand._

 _His face was passive, not emotion shining in his eyes. Shion reached a blood stained hand out to him. Nezumi ignored the gesture, turning on his heel and disappearing into the darkness. "Goodbye, your majesty."_

 _Wordless wails fell from Shion's mouth, hands gripping his chest tightly. He fell to his knees, the darkness enveloping him. His body disappeared, but the pain radiated through him. When he opened his mouth to scream, there was no air. He was screaming and gasping and crying, but the air was going and he couldn't breathe and he was going to die-_

"Shion!"

With a strangled gasp, Shion's dark eyes flew open. He stared into the darkness, choked sobs falling from his mouth. He could feel a hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly. Shion squeezed his eyes shut, hiding from the darkness of the room.

"Lantern. Light, please," he pleaded in a small voice that was thick with tears. The tear tracks down his face itched. He reached a hand up to wipe his face as Nezumi struck a match and lit the lantern. Brilliant, bright light illuminated their small room, chasing away the darkness. The knot in the red eyed boy's chest loosened slightly. He took a deep, shaky breath and let it out slowly. His chin wobbled as he tried to hold in another sob. He blinked slowly, staring up at Nezumi's worried, and slightly annoyed, face; so different from the blank look from his taller boy reached out a hand to stroke the scar over Shion's cheek. The touch helped ground Shion, pushing away the last bits of the nightmare. His body stopped trembling and he could breath again.

He stood up carefully, moving over Nezumi's body to avoid jostling the dark haired teen, scrubbing his hand against his eyes again to wipe away the last of his tears. Now that he was fully awake, he noticed that his shirt was drenched in sweat, sticking to his chest. He hastily pulled the clothing off, the feeling of the sweat against his skin reminding him too much of blood. Nezumi watched him do this silently, sitting up after a moment to reach a hand reach a hand out to rest against Shion's arm.

"Are you alright?" he murmured, moving to the edge of the bed. He gripped Shion's waist gently, pulling the boy back. He pressed gentle kisses along his lower back.. Shion relaxed slightly at the contact, his body sagging with exhaustion. Normally, Nezumi would tease him and complain about being woken up. Shion's sobbing, broken voice stopped him from saying anything. He could tell that this had been a bad one.

Shion continued to breath in through his nose, out through his mouth, until his tremors subsided. He rubbed a hand over the scar on his chest, making sure that the hole wasn't spilling blood. He reach up to touch the rough line on the back of his neck, making sure that there wasn't a bump growing under his skin. Those movements alone gave the dark haired boy an idea of what his partner had been dreaming about. The rat stood slowly, wrapping long arms around Shion's thin body. He pressed butterfly kisses along Shion's shoulder, ending at the scar against his neck.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Shion finally whispered, rubbing his hands over his face and sighing. The buzzing still rang faintly in his ears. His hands were starting to shake again. Seeing this, Nezumi slowly turned the boy toward him and pulled him close. Shion made a surprised sound in the back of his throat, but allowed himself to be adjusted. Nezumi held the boy to his chest in a hug, rubbing a calloused hand down the pale haired boy's back. Slowly, gentle fingers traced along his spine. Shion leaned heavily on his boyfriend, absorbing his warmth. Nezumi's closeness was familiar and grounding, the weight against him comforting.

Nezumi felt him sag, the boy's knees weak below him. The dark haired teen slowly sat back on the bed, bringing Shion with him. He easily pulled the boy into his lap, helping Shion curl his knees against his scarred chest. Shion was still shaking in his arms.

"What was it about?" he whispered. Normally, he wouldn't press Shion for answers. The sound of his sobs echoed in Nezumi's ears though. He'd never heard Shion sound like that, never heard the desperation and fear in the boy's voice.

Shion turned to press his face against his boyfriend's chest, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"The bee and you and being shot," he whispered in a flurry, soft breath brushing over Nezumi's chest. The taller boy tightened his arm's around Shion's small body, pressing him closer. He pressed his nose into Shion's hair, taking in a deep breath.

"You're safe now, Shion." In a rare moment of soft affection, he pressed gentle kisses into the crown of white hair. Long fingers tipped Shion's chin up so that Nezumi could kiss his forehead, his cheeks, his eyelids that were still salty from tears. He enjoyed the hum in the back of the pale boy's throat.

"Yeah," Shion whispered against Nezumi's lips. The dark teen pressed a chaste kiss to Shion's mouth. The pale boy could feel the affection there, the gentleness that came with quiet love. He pressed back, conveying his own love and gratitude.

When they pulled away, Nezumi didn't hesitate to pull the boy down on the bed. They wiggled and adjusted quickly, Nezumi's larger body curled around Shion. He held the small boygently, reassuringly. He reached a hand over to extinguish the lantern, not missing the way that Shion tensed. Small hands gripped his shirt in tight fists. Nezumi ran his hand along Shion's back, coaxing the boy into slowly relaxing. He listened intently as the white haired boy's breath slowed down, his heartbeat settling into a slow, deep thumping.

"I'm sorry that I woke you up," Shion whispered, breath tickling Nezumi's collarbone. Nezumi gave a small smile, pressing a kiss to Shion's cheek. He felt the blush rise on Shion's face.

"Everyone gets nightmares."

Shion's dark eyes widened in surprise. He'd expected teasing and annoyance, not gentle reassurances and soft kisses. His lips curled into a smile and he nuzzled closer, enjoying the chuckle he feels reverberate through him.

"So clingy," Nezumi teased quietly, enjoying the pout that he can feel against his chest.

"Says the boy hugging me right now," Shion shot back quietly, though his arms tightened around Nezumi. As if he was afraid the dark haired teen was going to pull away. Which Nezumi couldn't blame him for, because he _had_ left. He'd returned though. He'd always come back to Shion. The rat held him a little tighter, giving quiet reassurance. _I'm not leaving again._

No more words were spoken between the two. Slowly, Shion fell back into sleep. His breathing was deep and slow against Nezumi. The dark haired teen stayed awake for half an hour, making sure that the nightmares wouldn't grip Shion again.

He breathed against soft white haired and tightened his arm around Shion's thin body. He knew what nightmares were like, knew that they were vibrant and real. There were nights that they plagued him, tormenting him relentlessly.

For a long time, he dealt with them alone. He'd wake up in a cold sweat with gasping breath and shaking hands. He'd leave his tiny home, walk along the wastelands until his breath was slow and his heartbeat calmed. He'd stay awake the rest of the night, reading Shakespeare to avoid sleep.

Shion had changed that routine.

When Nezumi jerked up from bed, nightmares flashing behind his eyes, the small boy would wrap his thin arms around Nezumi's middle, hugging him tightly. He'd never say anything, just press kisses against the rat's back. He'd lay a tiny hand over Nezumi's heart, absorbing the rapid beat. When it calmed down, beating steady and slow against his hand, he'd move his hand away and rest his arm over Nezumi's stomach. Soft puffs of breath would hit the skin at the back of Nezumi's neck, every once in a while interrupted by a gentle kiss. Though the rat would never admit it, he was thankful for these moments. Appreciative of the gentle, steady support, so different from anything he was used to. This gentleness, this compassion, was never something the rat remembered receiving. That wasn't things operated in the West Side. And while Nezumi had teased the boy for his softness, he knew that this was who Shion was.

Soft. Gentle. Compassionate. Loving. Comforting. Shion was the one person Nezumi didn't need to hide from. When it was just the two of them, when they curled up alone at home, Nezumi didn't need to hide anything. Shion had already seen all of Nezumi, every side and crack and broken edge. And Shion loved him, despite all of that.

And Nezumi found that he was thankful for all of these thing, for the white haired boys unconditional love. They made up who Shion was and though he rarely said it out loud, he loved Shion too.

When he was sure that the boy was not going to be plagued with another nightmare, Nezumi allowed himself to relax. He closed his eyes and took in another deep breath against Shion's hair. The pale boy nuzzled against Nezumi's body, giving a soft sigh when he settled. Nezumi couldn't help but chuckle. Exhaustion tugged at the edge of his mind, guiding him slowly into sleep. Right before he fell into sleep, he tightened his arms a little tighter, reassuring Shion that even in sleep, he was there.

He would always be there.


End file.
